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Jeep4two

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Posts posted by Jeep4two

  1. I've cached with both a Colorado 300 and the Oregon 400t. While the Oregon is a little bigger than the Dakota model I still feel confident in its durability. A screen protector is a must for any of the touch screen models (invisible shield is what I chose).

     

    I didn't like the wheel on the Colorado and in the end sacrificed a little reception in trade for the usability of the Oregon. Even in heavy tree cover the Oregon performs well. I would imagine the Dakota is similar in a lot of ways.

  2. On the pocket query page http://www.geocaching.com/pocket/ there is a preview section. The little icon on the right will open your query in Google Maps.

     

    Thanks for this tip! That little icon's been there all along hasn't it? :antenna: The more we use the more we discover and the easier it is to do the thing we enjoy. Appreciate your tip.

     

    Hey - it's Indiana Jill! Enjoyed meeting you at the 2009 Indiana Fall Picnic! Hope all's well with you!

     

    I love using Google Earth to view my GPX files, I believe you can just drop the GPX file right into Google Earth.

     

    I think you can open the GPX pocket query in Mapsource as well if you happen to have a Garmin.

  3. Ok, I'll see what happens. Thanks for the help.

     

    I can't speak about the specifics for the Delorme products, however I was able to take the ESRI shape files from Indiana DNR and Kentucky State Parks and create overlay maps for my Garmin Oregon 400t.

     

    Those shape files were taken from GPS readings over a period of many years, so I've found that the trails end up being a little off but they make for a good reference and when overlaid on my topo maps I can get ideas of vertical changes along a trail which is nice.

     

    Maybe someone more experienced with the Delorme units and map making can give some additional input.

     

    In addition there is also a way to convert regions of a shape file to and GPX. It's somewhat involved and does require you have access to the right software (ArcGIS and ArcMAP are what I used - I have access at the college where I work - can't afford the thousands that software costs for recreational conversions).

  4. I enjoy writing long logs if there's something interesting to write about. As a cache owner I enjoy getting something more than TFTC, but I am appalled that a cache owner would stoop so low as to e-mail a log writer taking them to task for a short/crummy log.

     

    For some reason I'm drawn uncontrollably into these types of threads. As I read along I rarely feel the need to interject, however.......

     

    Since I agree that it would be appalling to ask someone to write a better log, or scold them for writing a TFTC only log (even though I love logs with some substance and thought), I must also wonder...

     

    Would this practice change if every CO that was offended by those single acronym logs simply e-mailed each of those finders with a quick note:

     

    <Start of Message>

     

    To: Cache Finder

    From: Cache Owner

     

    Subject: Contacting Cache Finder <blah blah automatic GC subject line junk>

     

    TFTL

     

    <End of Message>

  5. Sensitivity isn't much of an issue if you are buying a new GPSr. Virtually all GPSr's on the market today have high sensitivity receivers (chipsets) that will do a fine job of holding satellite lock in most condition.

     

    However the TomTom XL 340-s is GPSr designed for in-car use. Not that you couldn't use it for Geocaching. I mean you can dig a 2 foot deep post hole with a tiny garden shovel, but post hole diggers are a much better choice.

     

    Consider a hand held GPSr that can also serve your in car needs. The Garmin Oregon 300 (or 400, or 500, or 550) would be a nice choice. The Dakota line is slilghtly less expensive and very similar. There are other models out there like the PN-30 and 40 that can also do the trick. The Garmin Oregon and Dakota have automotive modes that give you a 3D road view like the traditional in car units, then you can switch to the more Geocaching friendly views when you get out of the car.

     

    I personally use the Garmin 400t and have loaded routable maps that I previously owned (there are also free routable maps for the Garmin units called OSM Routable - Open Street Maps).

     

    If you really have to have a driving (in-car) GPSr and want to Geocache the Nuvi 500 and 550 are both 'rugged' in-car units that are Geocaching friendly (waterproof, rugged, compass navigation/bearing).

     

    Most in car units don't have a bearing pointer. They also lack sufficient zoom to zoom in and navigate to the cache once you get close.

     

    Information to the more popular devices is here: http://forums.Groundspeak.com/GC/index.php?showtopic=230083

  6. IF (stress on IF) the original 'ZOR' account is in fact yours and you regain control of it thorugh Groundspeak, you could then change the old 'ZOR' username (make the request to contact@geocaching.com) to something else.

     

    Then make the change to your ^Zor^ account to 'ZOR'.

     

    This assumes you own both accounts and the lackey is agreeable to the changes. This would keep your stats in check in your account that you have been logging with .

  7. November 2001, I arrived at work where I was a network technician for a school district. My boss was a true techie that had risen up from the ranks and was a real gadget guy, like me.

     

    He had seen a story on the evening news about Geocaching and was telling me about it. We got on the Internet and pulled up the site. We lived in a very rural area and were quite surprised to find that there were a few caches close by (within a mile or two) and we were all about it. Ooops - only one problem. Neither of us had GPSr's.

     

    After some research into the game we began to see the educational value and decided to work on developing a lesson plan for using Geocaching and GPSr's in the classroom as math, science and geography lessons. We met with some others in the district that were tech savy and started developing the curriculum while we waited for our first GPSr to arrive (a Street Pilot to use with our Palm III).

     

    It arrived and we headed out to try our first cache. Less than a mile from the office, 4 of us hopped out of the vehicle and headed up into the woods where the GPSr was directing us. An hour later we left empty handed, my first DNF, my first cache. A note to the owner in our logs and we were met with a little hint in our e-mail the next day. Off we went again... This time success! We had miskeyed the last digit of one of the coordinates the first time and were down the hill from the cache the first time. A quick trade for a Geocaching.com sticker (still on my cachemobile) and we were off to log our find.

     

    So - basically what started as an educational adventure and part of my job, ended up being one of my favorite things to do. As it turns out, that was my first cache hunt, first DNF and we ended up being the FTF. Awesome.

     

    (NOTE: This was under the profile "Tech Crew" that I used only for that group back in 2001. I still hold the account, but cache under Jeep4Two with my wife since getting back into caching several years after my first experience).

  8. I don't have many caches hidden but here are my perspectives:

     

    From a finder's perspective: If you didn't find it, it's a DNF. A different visit warrants a new log, not the change of a previous log. So I would log DNF, then log a new Found It. I want to provide the cache owner with feedback about their cache, my visit and my perceptions of the hide. I also want other cachers to see my feedback on all visits. I'll even post a note if I revisit a cache at a later time for some reason (travel bug drop, visiting with friends or newbies, etc).

     

    From a hiders perspecitve: I like to know my 'stats' for a cache. I like to see if people are finding it, not finding it and get all the feedback from every visit. If logs get changed then that information gets lost.

  9. My first GPSr was an eTrex Legend (good ole blue) and it was fine. Weak under tree cover of course.

     

    This spring I bit the bullet and got an Oregon 400t. I chose it based on a number factors: 1) Electronic Compass and 2) Price were the two most important at the time. The 2nd choice was the Oregon 300 with third being the 60Csx.

     

    All had the electronic compass, were high sensitivity units and had varying degrees of features that I liked. Other than poor reception on the old eTrex Legend the lack of a compass to take bearings to the cache when standing still was the biggest dislike (paperless features of course are important too, but trying to be apples to apples as much as possible).

     

    I really like the electronic compass. That said a multi axis electronic compass would be an improvement over what the Oregon has (have to hold flat).

     

    Bottom line for me: Electronic Compass is a must - but that's just my take, as you can see from others opinions vary.

  10. Ok - not Photoshopping your pictures here. I just wondered this weekend if anyone has found one larger. While attending the 2009 Indiana Fall Picnic I found some of the largest Nano's, Film Cans, LocknLocks, Matchstick containers, and of course Ammo Cans that I've ever seen. The pathtags were huge too!

     

    Wow!

     

    I had to share as a tribute to the planning team and "Eye of the Pirate" who designed the night cache for us. Enjoy the pics and visit the cache page for more (including GeoSurvivor and other event pics).

     

    Ammo Can:

     

    7007ce44-0dfe-4f20-a321-30b28e73c4c3.jpg

     

    Giant Pathtags:

     

    cd443133-1365-4d56-abd6-787ba04a9a51.jpg

     

    All the Giant containers:

     

    4341ab5e-2b53-4113-b34b-244891d18e8f.jpg

     

    Great event - if you are near the Indiana area and didn't attend, you missed a great one - keep an eye out for the 2010 event!

  11. If I have my swag bag that I got on eBay. I'll use the carabiner to clip to one of the molle loops. No swag bag? Clipped to one of the loops on the back of my pants/shorts while I sign the log, then back into my hand.

     

    I love my swag bag, got it from seller "Airsofteagle" (The bag is called a "Tactical Utility Shoulder Bag" and available in many colors/camo patterns) on eBay - shipping took about a 10 days, but price was right, quality is fine for the price and it's very flexible with lots of places to hook things (and store things).

     

    AS536.jpg

     

    I clip my Oregon to one of the molle loops on the top of the bag and it hangs down to the left in the above image (face up). Also works out to be a good carry spot while hiking, keeping the unit face up/out and keeping a good signal.

  12. Yep - sure can. Lemme think for a second . .

     

    I'm foggy on the process so I'll leave it to these links. My process was a little different as I created overlay maps from Indiana DNR trail maps that I had to convert to WGS84 format first (from the shapefile) then make the overlay map from that new shapefile. I've done with from a GPX file too however and it works fine.

     

    You'll need GPSMapEdit: http://www.geopainting.com/en/

    GPSMapperfree: http://www.cgpsmapper.com/download2/FreeSetup.exe

    and finally

    Read the tutorial here: http://www.keenpeople.com/index.php?option...=4&Itemid=3

     

    I was able to convert a set of 20 different GPX files that were already in WGS84 format before I figured out how to use the shapefile and get the entire state all at once :)

     

    Good luck

  13. There is no on board file editor, or 'file selector' to allow this at this time (to my knowledge - sure hope/wish I am wrong).

     

    Send an e-mail to Garmin's support folks, or the the beta team requesting the feature.

     

    I think it would be great to have a way to select which GPX files were parsed for the Geocaching feature, enabling users to organize their GPX files more logically then turn on or off the files they want to use (Much like the maps).

  14. As an alternative, you can use the old Metroguide North America, probably cheap on eBay as a used item. You need to convert it to routable using a free program called Metrowizzz (Yep, 3 z's).

     

    If you already have Metroguide NA then your good.

     

    Only drawback is the older maps can have outdated road info at times, but it's not real common for me so far.

     

    You can also google "OSM Routable" and get the OSM (Open Street Maps) that are routable on the 400t. Their site lets you select 'zones' then download the IMG file from their site. You could break the country into several downloads, then put them in the Garmin folder on your device (or the microSD card) and have them enabled for Automotive Profile. They are OK but can be a bit quirky at times - but they are free.

     

    One final alternative would be to pickup a refurb in car navigation unit (Nuvi 205 or similar - try Tiger Direct and other similar sites). I've seen the remanufactured Nuvi 205 for as little as $59, and it includes a full 1 year warranty just like the regular non-refurb. That makes a nice cheap alternative to routing on the 400t, but of course adds a 2nd device to drag around (and/or hide when you get out of the car).

  15. Quick question about foods. Will there be coolers/refrigeration for perishable items to be kept between arrival that morning and lunch time? What about warming/reheating? What to bring or how to pack would vary based on facilities available.

     

    Thanks -

     

    Jeep4Two

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